Blooming Monkey!

[October]

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I got ds to fall asleep on his own by gradually retreating from his room.
At first I sat next to his cot - not touching him but he could see me. Then each night I moved my chair a little bit further away until eventually I was sitting by the door. Then outside the door by which time he was falling asleep very quickly and not worried about me being there.
Does your ds have a comforter of any kind? Both of my kids have "blankets" - ds's is actually an old T shirt of mine. Maybe your ds is a bit old to introduce one but you could try sleeping in a T shirt and then giving it to him the next night.
Hope things improve soon.

Another thought - it's harder for all of us to get to sleep this time of year as it's so warm and light at night. Can you make his room really dark to persuade him that it really is bed time? My ds is now 4 and we have had to resort to putting a wooden board across his window at bedtime.

I'm afraid I can't offer a solution just loads of sympathy. Our dd is 21 months and has done this on and off for a couple of months. She is cutting a molar but I don't think that is really the cause. She is just developing a strong personality and is enjoying pushing things a bit more. Her latest is to remove sleepsuit and nappy and yell for attention.

However when we are out she is if anything becoming more clingy and panicking if I go out of her immediate view to the point of hysteria. She has had a tendency to cry and be anxious when left since she was 5 months old but this is different, both more disturbing and exhausting.

Does your ds settle himself for naps in the daytime. Is he perhaps not really tired, or otherwise may be overtired, at 7 (dd's bedtime has drifted from 7 towards 7.30-8 pm in recent weeks).

Anyway I hope you solve your ds's sleep issues, and hope someone can post some ideas which would help us too.

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A tip that might help is something I did with success. When dropping the afternoon nap - I brought the bath time forward because that always woke them up when they started flagging in the afternoon - usually about 4pm. It seemed to give them a second wind.Then they had their tea, story and bed by 6.45 -7pm. If I didn't do that they fell asleep eating their tea and didn't go to bed till much later. Child free evenings are a necessity at that age IMO

How long is his day time nap? Perhaps you could just reduce it to, say, half an hour? My ds dropped his nap before he was 2, I think. I had a choice between letting him nap and then stay up for an hour after dd was in bed or keep him awake and put up with him being cranky in the afternoons. He is STILL (aged 4) cranky in the afternoons but at least he goes to bed at 7!

My ds is 21 months and a few weeks ago climbed out of his cot. He has become a terrible sleeper but is now on a mattress on the floor with a stair gate on his room. It was a rough transition but now he plays in his room quietly (I have put his favorite toys in there) last night from 7 until 8.30ish and he has started waking up early as well and is playing quietly until about 7 when he demands attention. We can even walk past his room and he doesn't mind.

With dd I was much more lenient and spent a long time putting her to bed and leaving the room with an excuse, "mummys going to check on the washing I'll be back in a minute" that sort of thing and leaving her for longer periods.

I just remembered my friend had real problems with her boy sleeping and it turned out that he must have been a bit heavy for the cot and the mattress was uncomfortable, as soon as she put him on a matress on the floor things changed immediately.

I agree wih Mears about the bath time. I even find that going upstairs on the pretex of having a bath makes them suddenly get interested in their toys!!
i would ditch the lunch time sleep watch tv together or read stories at lunchtime so he gets some time to mong out and then go to bed at 6 pm - lovely long evening!

I too agree with ditching the lunchtime sleep. Also agree with the idea of gradually getting further and further away from the bed. We have done both of these things and now we have a child who falls a sleep the moment his light is turned off after his stories. (We do sometimes have to actively stop him from falling asleep in the day, which seems rather cruel and can make him very grumpy but it is rare now and definately worth it). Lots of sympathy, having at least a couple of hours in the evening is so important.

Hi October,

How is it going ?

Our dd has settled a little more readily this week, if later than normal. However last night she climbed out of her travel cot (granma visiting) and suddenly appeared, very wide awake and pleased with herself, in the lounge. Fortunately we don't have stairs.

I suspect our evenings of peace are going to be further tested in the weeks to come if she manages to get out of her cot as easily. Also we are due to go on holiday and lose the routine.

Hope things have improved for you at least

No, they haven't LIZS! I think that he has reached that 'I'm asserting myself' phase, as he is doing other things in the day, like biting when told off. It is so hard isn't it! We have tried sitting in his room with him, and that sometimes works, but usually only if dh is with him. With me he plays up...

Oh well, when he is 15, I'll never get him out of bed will I!